The Beauty and Simplicity of Training with Attraction

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positive reinforcement

I was driving home yesterday when I spied a dog running loose along the busy road at the entrance of my neighborhood. Her black muzzle and smooth fawn colored coat created a perfect camouflage amongst the roadside autumn leaves. In my rear view mirror I saw a line of cars approaching. Continue reading →

Sometimes contrast is good. I normally prefer to link to feel good, positive, forward moving videos and stories, however this story demonstrates my previous post in the most timely manner. I just posted a blurb musing about negative reinforcement training being called harassment training and I find a well publicized example that I feel compelled to use to visually demonstrate my last post. Continue reading →

I stumbled upon a wonderful article written by Kellie Snider, editor of Animal Behavior Answers, and positive reinforcement dog trainer. In her two part article she discusses the unwanted teachings of negative reinforcement. She very clearly discusses and defines many issues surrounding the use of negative reinforcement as a teaching method, bringing to my mind a few similarities occurring in the horse world. Continue reading →

I can barely contain my excitement. There is a new product on the market that feels to me like a direct answer to a prayer. My prayer was, “How can I make a seamless transition from ground work to under saddle using attraction-based methods?” Before I tell you about this new product, I feel the need to explain why I’m so enthused, even before trying it. Continue reading →

I’ve been told and have read that successful positive reinforcement training (or attraction-based work or clicker training) is both an art and a science. It certainly helps to observe, as an artist with a trained eye would, the subtle nuances of your horse’s behavior. And the knowledge of science can shed light on the ins-and-outs of operant conditioning. I’d like to add a third category that compliments both the art and the science: appreciation. Continue reading →

‘Tis the season of giving and I found a few gifts online in the form of awesome websites. The first is a dog training website chock full of phenomenal training information. It’s called Dogmantics. If I could snap my fingers and fast forward into the future I would love to provide a resource like this for horses. Continue reading →

The Fine Print

All of the material on the pages of this weblog, I Feel Good, My Horse Feels Good, is copyrighted. This protection includes but is not limited to the articles, photographs, video and Horse Pucky cartoons. All rights are reserved.

If you’d like to use some of my blog’s content for personal use, feel free. If it’s for reproduction, please ask first. If it’s for professional or commercial reproduction, definitely ask first, along with buying my horses some hay.

As with all things equine and their inherent risks of potential for injury to horse and human, the exercises and examples of the things I do with my horses fall into the category, Try at your own risk. I cannot assume responsibility, and neither can my horses.